City council stops using Care Act ‘easements’

Sunderland City Council is no longer using the Care Act ‘easements’ introduced by the Coronavirus Act 2020, it has emerged.

The Care Quality Commission now lists six local authorities who are using the easements, which permit councils not to meet their adult social care duties under the 2014 Act so long as conditions are met. These councils are:

The remaining local authorities are:

• Warwickshire County Council;
• Staffordshire County Council;
• Birmingham City Council;
• Solihull Council;
• Derbyshire County Council; and
• Coventry City Council.

Derbyshire was recently threatened with a potential legal challenge over its decision to use the easements, amid concerns about a lack of transparency.

Middlesbrough Council had notified the Department for Health and Social Care it was operating under the easements but it has already returned to full Care Act duties.